Falling For the First Time   Moving Parts It's Your Move Work Zone and High Way  At 5 min. till start "Falling for the First Time" - Barenaked Ladies and a 4 min. video countdown. When the song's done, welcome, & introductions, make announcements. · Worlds of Fun sign up sheet · 13 last UMYF, 19-20 Ribs   Which Way Are We Moving Work Zone & High Way Begin with a large group&ldots;  Gods Word is falling on us again and again for the first time. Luk 8:4-15  The Sower And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded 30, 60, and a hundredfold."  Now the parable seems to say this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then evil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and know Christ. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way, the cares and riches and pleasures of life choke them. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. Tonight we are going to look at this familiar parable and see if we can see those seeds falling again and again for the first time. Break into Journey Groups Needed: tape and 4 full-page signs, Path, Rock, Thorns, and Soil. Have everyone start in the middle of the gym. Designate 4 areas differently as follows: Path, Rock, Thorns, and Soil. The object is for the leader to yell out one of the areas and everyone runs to that spot right away. The last three to get there are out and stand aside. Here's the tricky part, the leader may say one thing and point in another direction or may call the place where they are standing already. If someone jumps ahead they will probably be the last one back. Play until you have a small group of winners. Break into Journey Groups   Moving In Work Zone & High Way Are you thinking for yourself? Work Zone - fine a cool way to divide up into smaller groups. Ask:  · How does the game we just played relate to the Parable of the Sower? · What's the problem with the path? (Seed is trampled on, the birds ate it, picture a path right next to deep soil and vegetation, walked on to be hard as rock.) · What's the problem with the rocks? (Seed may sprout but will wither because of lack of water, their roots are restricted, picture a small layer of soil over lime rock.) · What's the problem with the thorns? (Seeds grow and then are choked by the thorns, soil looks clean but the bad seeds of weeds and thorns were hidden in the turned soil.) · What's up with the good soil? (Yielded crop 30,60 and a hundred times what was planted, rich thick dark soil with nutrients to grow.)   Moving On Work Zone & High Way Interpretation of the Parable Work Zone -stay in smaller groups. Say: Peter and the other disciples came to the conclusion that the parable of the sower was an allegory, that each feature had some hidden meaning, and so they decided to go to Jesus and ask for an explanation. " And when Jesus heard this, he said to Peter: "My son, I desire to withhold nothing from you, but first suppose you tell me what you have been talking about; what is your interpretation of the parable?" Jesus was communicating with his disciples, we asked to listen to them. Do not forget that communication involves more than just speaking. Listening is also one of the ways to communicate clearly. Ask: · What are the three main components of the parable? (Sower, seed, and ground) · Is Jesus the sower and we are the seed? · Are we the sower and the Word of God the seed? · How do we fit with the different ground types?   Moving on Work Zone & High Way (Work Zone stay split) One Possible Answer  Say:  Here's what Peter thought: The sower is the gospel preacher; the seed is the word of God. The seeds, which fell by the wayside, are those who do not understand. The birds represent evil. The seed on the rocky places are superficial persons who, hear and receive the message; but because they have no real root they wither when they face trials. The seed that fell among thorns are those who hear but let the world's riches choke them out. Now the seed that fell on good ground to bear, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold, are those with varying degrees of appreciation, their education is different so they have different degrees of religious experience.  Jesus, after listening to Peter's interpretation of the parable, asked the other apostles if anyone else had another suggestion to offer, only Nathaniel responded. Ask:  · What do you think Nathaniel saw differently than Peter?  Say:  Here's where Nathaniel differed. He believed the seeds on the wayside were those on hardened ground who had heard only a little of the gospel, along with those who didn't care about it and therefore had hardened their hearts. And, he saw the seeds in good soil to be those with different abilities to comprehend truth. Ask: · What are the differences between Peter and Nathaniel? (Compare and contrast - read them again if necessary.) · Which one is right? · How can you be sure?   Moving up Work Zone & High Way Another Look Say: When Nathaniel had finished speaking, the apostles fell into serious discussion and engaged in earnest debate. The Master permitted this confusion to become heated then asked if a conclusion had been reached. Thomas spoke up saying he thought Peter and Nathaniel were both wrong. Ask: · How can they both be wrong? · Now, what do you think is the right interpretation? Say: Thomas went on to say that such attempts to make a parable fit only one mold would only result in confusion and serious misconception of the true purpose of such a parable. He continued by saying, "We were all of one mind an hour ago, now we are divided into two separate groups strongly believing the other is wrong." Jesus, knowing that Thomas was correct, asked him to fully explain the parable. Thomas said, I think this parable has only one great truth. And that is that our teaching, no matter how faithfully and efficiently we execute our divine commissions, is going to be met with different degrees of success that will be beyond our control. Ask: · Now, how does this parable relate to our youth group? (Some listen, some are indifferent, want to be somewhere else, are disrespectful) · Does it matter to your spiritual growth how others behave? · If you can't be a sower or the seed, what can you be doing to grow according to the parable?   Moving out Work Zone  Balloon Smash Pass (Join the small groups) Prep: Blow up a few balloons to start with. Have more on hand to blow up later. Use different size and shape balloons. Say: We're going to play a game. The object of the game is to pass the balloons. However there will be things that are out of your control that will effect whether or not you are able to stay in the game. Play: Pass two balloons around while music plays (Falling for the First Time), in Hot Potato fashion.  When the music stops the ones who have a balloon pop it as fast as they can. The slowest to pop it is out. Start again with two balloons. Change the way the balloon is passed. Exp. "Over your head!", "Under your legs!", Behind your back, around your waist!" wrists only.   Moving out High Way Say: Is the purpose of this parable to explain to us that we should be sowers and spread His word to all who will hear us? Or is it that we should be good seeds and look for the best ground to grow in? Or is it to remind us of what bad ground looks like remembering that we can choose to change? We all can be sowers in some way but what about the ground. Ask:  · What is good ground? · How can you be good ground? Say: Good ground has been tilled carefully, and dug, and the clods of dirt have been broken up, and fertilizer has been added to it, and it has been watered, and hedged around so that animals cannot get in. It has been guarded, so not one can steal the fruits it will produce. There is effort involved in having good ground. It doesn't just "happen". Ask: · Have you or someone you've know ever had a good garden plot? · What does it take to get the ground ready for planting? · After the seeds are in, what's next? How long? · Have you ever just given up because of the weeds and settled for trying again next year? Say: Be patient, and cultivate your ground every day, every moment. However, be careful not to judge yourself. This is a hard lesson that takes us a long time to learn - to not judge ourselves, and look at where we fall short and to say we can never do better. Well, in some things we do better, and in some things, God help us, we have done worse. I can't change"? Everyone can change with time and effort. I am sure, you are like me, and are very tired of your troubles popping up again and again. Like thorny weeds they cut and they hurt. And yet, in some weird and perverted way, they are dear to us because it's easy to sit and watch the weeds grow, after all, "Ground Hogs" don't care what they eat. Ask:  · Did you learn anything different tonight? · What is the message of the parable? (Don't give up; everyone is different, do what's right no matter what the results.) Come back together    Closing Work Zone & High Way The Leader Closes: Gather in a circle. Sum up the lesson Say: I can remember as a young boy tilling a huge part of my great-grandmother's property in order to plant her annual garden. A few years ago I went back to see great-grandma's house again, and you can't even TELL that there was a garden any where on the property, and it was VERY good ground after we had finished with it, but over the years no one was there to take care of it, and so, it reverted back. The same thing can happen to us. If we do not take care of the seed that is planted within us, we could begin to loose the fight and allow more and more weeds to grow. Whether you allow yourself to be walked on smashed and hardened into a path of the world or allow ourselves to stop drinking from the well. It all comes out the same if you stop trying. We must do this work, and tear out the weeds, drink from the well and not let the world compact us into its paths if we are to be good ground! None of us right now are unfertile ground because we are at least trying to be Christians. Some of us may be in the rocks; some may be in the thorns, some are being trod down on the paths of indifference. Even if you have very little soil right now, and even if you are choked with thorns and cares, even if you see no need right now God will help you to become good soil. He will help anyone to become good soil. Anyone that desires will be given, freely, God's mercy. His seeds will fall again and again - for the first time. So take God's forgiveness and clasp it to your hearts. Hold on to it, cultivate it, be good soil, and never stop trying. Close In Prayer: Dear Lord, we've come together as a group again this week and continue to do your work. Thank you for your mercy and patience. Grant us the strength to do your work, breaking ground again and again with us, just like it was the first time. Forgive us for ignoring your seeds because we are to busy or we just loose focus. Bless us in your service. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.  Sing Sanctuary UMYF Benediction  Gather these for the Lesson: tape, 4 signs, lots of balloons  "Falling for the First Time" - Barenaked Ladies and a 4 min. pp. video countdown.     "Falling For The First Time" I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out I'm so brave, too bad I'm a baby I'm so fly, that's probably why it Feels just like I'm falling for the first time I'm so green, it's really amazing I'm so clean, too bad I can't get all the dirt off of me. I'm so sane, it's driving me crazy It's so strange, I can't believe it Feels just like I'm falling for the first time Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time? What if I nursed this infection? Maybe the worst is behind It feels just like I'm falling for the first time It feels just like I'm falling for the first time I'm so chill, no wonder it's freezing I'm so still, I just can't keep my fingers out of anything I'm so thrilled to finally be failing I'm so done, turn me over cause it Feels just like I'm falling for the first time Anything plain can be lovely, anything loved can be lost Maybe I lost my direction, what if our love is the cost? Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time? What if I nursed this infection? Maybe the worst is behind